Scientists have discovered that it may be possible to repair a patient’s kidney using cells taken from their own body. They have shown for the first time that cells in bone marrow are capable of turning into kidney cells.

The breakthrough could lead to new ways to treat kidney damage caused by cancer and other diseases.

It could also mean that doctors may eventually be able to restore function to patients suffering from kidney failure, and may pave the way to new gene therapy for kidney diseases.

The work has been carried out by scientists at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Barts Hospital, the London Hospital and Imperial College School of Medicine.

Early development
They focused on cells from the bone marrow at the very earliest stage of their development.

Kidney facts:
An estimated 100,000 people in the UK suffer from some form of kidney disease, excluding cystitis and kidney stones.
There are approximately 32,000 kidney patients receiving treatment in the UK.
50% of these have had a kidney transplant and are considered to be actively having treatment because they still require regular anti-rejection medication.
During 1999, 1,742 kidney transplant operations were performed in the UK and Ireland.
However, 5,056 people were actively waiting for a suitable organ for transplant.
Currently about 25% of grafts fail after five years.
At this stage this stem cells have the potential to develop into white blood cells, red blood cells or another type of blood structure called a platelet.
Scientists have already shown that these cells can transform themselves into liver cells.

The new work shows that they can turn into kidney cells too.

Professor Nick Wright, head of Imperial Cancer Research Fund’s Histopathology Unit, said: “This discovery is very exciting and means we have new ways to treat kidney damage caused by cancer or other diseases.

“Doctors could use stem cells from the patient’s own bone marrow to replenish kidney cells lost by injury.

“This would be of huge benefit as the kidney is very poor at repairing itself.

“Furthermore, there would be much less complication with the kidneys rejecting the new cells, because they would come from the patient’s own body.

“Another exciting development would be using bone marrow stem cells containing genes resistant to cancer or other disease, to protect the kidneys from further damage.”

Using a special DNA probe that identifies male cells they checked the patient’s new kidneys.

They found male kidney cells in the donated female kidneys, meaning that the recipient’s male bone marrow cells had transformed into kidney tissue.

Professor Wright said: “Anti-rejection medication after a kidney transplant costs about £5,000 per patient a year, and each year the number of new patients needing kidney transplants increases by about 5%.

“It would be fantastic to save kidney patients this trauma and save the NHS some money.”

Dr Poulsom, a research pathologist at Imperial Cancer, said: “The potential for advances in medicine from using adult stem cells is enormous.

“They can give rise to many different types of cells so any organ may one day be repaired. Using adult stem cells also avoids the ethical dilemmas associated with embryonic stem cell work.”

The National Kidney Research Fund said the research opened up exciting possibilities.

But in a statement, it said: “However, in spite of today’s announcement, the Fund believes that we are probably many years away from preventing kidney failure.

“This is because the intricate structure of the kidney compared to the simple liver tissue makes it much more difficult to replace the many functions of the two million kidney filters and tubules and also in kidney failure scarring distorts the tubules so that there is nowhere for new cells to function making it difficult for the kidney to repair itself.”

Much attention in recent years has been given to the antigenotoxicity of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll, however, is known to be converted into pheophytin, pyropheophytin, and pheophorbide in processed vegetable food and following ingestion by humans. Studies were conducted on the antimutagenic and tumoricidal potencies of these compounds. All the chlorophyll derivatives tested exhibit identical antimutagenic effect towards 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC), suggesting that the porphyrin nucleus may complex directly with the mutagen. It does not exclude, however, another mechanism of activity involving inactivation the enzymatic transformation of 3-MC. In contrast, the action of N’-nitro-N’-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) depends upon structural differences between the chlorophyll derivatives. It is significantly lower when the phytol-containing pheophytin and pyropheophytin are tested as to that of the phytol-lacking pheophorbide. The higher concentrations of the chlorophyll derivatives were required to reduce the mutagenicity of MNNG than needed for 3-MC. The cytotoxicity of chlorophyll derivatives against tumor cells also was evaluated. The cellular uptake and inhibition of myeloma cell multiplicity were found to be greater for pheophorbide than for pheophytin. Calculated on the amount of cell associated chlorophyll derivative, however, pheophytin was more cytostatic/cytotoxic than pheophorbide. The results presented in this report indicate that food sources that yield chlorophyll derivatives may play a significant role in cancer prevention.

An Exciting New Discovery!

Recently the first stage of an extensive research project carried out at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Canada produced some remarkable results. The project studies the effect of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae on the immune and endocrine systems, as well as on general blood physiology. It was discovered that eating AFA had a profound and unique effect on Natural Killer (NK) cells. The results were recently published under the title: Effects of the Blue Green Algae Aphanizomenon flos-aquae on Human Natural Killer Cells. It appears in Chapter 3.1 of the IBC Library Series, Volume 1911, Phytoceuticals: Examining the health benefit and pharmaceutical properties of natural antioxidants and phytochemicals.

NK cells have the ability to search for and recognize cells that are cancerous or have been infected by a virus, and kill them. The team of research scientists at the Royal Victoria Hospital, led by Dr. Gitte S. Jensen, discovered that eating Aphanizomenon flos-aquae triggers the movement of 40% of the circulating NK cells from the blood to the tissues where their main function is to perform immune surveillance and eliminate cancerous and virally-infected cells. Further research may prove that eating a small amount of AFA every day could assist in the prevention of cancer and viral infections. No other substance is known to trigger such a movement of NK cells in the body. This is very exciting news! We hope you will share it with everyone you know!_____________________________________________________

NOTE: These statements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food &
Drug Administration. The information contained in this website, are not
intended to treat, cure or prevent any disease. Results may vary.

My name is Jacki Smith. I am an Alternative Health Consultant. I have been recommending and using dietary supplements for over 20 years. I would like to share my story with you. My mother Beverly Smith, was my inspiration to get into the health and nutrition industry, and network marketing. She started “The Diet Shoppe” business in 1989 and I continue to operate the business as “Natural Health” today.

In 1992, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The surgeon performed a mastectomy, declared they got it all, and sent her home. She had a follow-up appointment one week later and nothing more than bloodwork scheduled for 6 months. During this time my mother was in a minor car accident that broke her left thumb and right wrist. Before going in to put pins in her wrist, the doctor ordered a routine chest x-ray and they found spots on her bones.

The oncologist verified the cancer had metastasized to the bones. It was in the vertebrae in her neck, middle of her back, left ribs and hip. The oncologist gave her a year to live. They scheduled her for chemotherapy and radiation treatments immedietly to possibly buy her a few more weeks or months. I received a call from my mother the next day giving me her prognosis. She wasn’t ready to die and asked me to help her learn how to live. I quit my job working in the auto parts industry that day. This was my starting point for learning about nutrition, alternative therapies and the whole body approach to healing.

During the next 45 days I read more than 30 books individuals had written that had healed themselves of cancer using alternative methods. I continue to call that time my “crash course” on nutrition and cancer. With each book we revised my mothers dietary regimen and supplemental intake using the information we had learned. Mom was not always at her best and she would often eat things that were on the bad lists we had created. I continued to read and learn, trying anything that had seemed promising from the research material. In the end, they had put so many toxins into her that they had compromised her immune system. She was given so much radiation that they had destroyed the bone mass in her neck. I was told it was a miracle that she was not a paraplegic.

Mom caught an infection from another patient who sat next to her during chemo and two days later she was checked into the hospital. She walked in but that would be the last time she stood. I fought the system from the nutritionist to the doctors, even getting approval for her to not only take her herbals, supplements and teas.…. but they were actually administering them to her while in the hospital.

When they released her from the hospital nine weeks later she was on mega doses of morphine each day. The doctor had told me my mother would suffocate to death. I told him my God wouldn’t do that to me. After one week at home using a soy bean juice product she was pain-free and off all morphine. She had started regaining her quality of life, and the tumors had begun to shrink when two weeks later, on Sept. 14, 1996, she went to sleep and never woke up. In the end my mother lived three years longer than the doctors had given her.

Since then my aunt has fought breast cancer. She continues to stay in remission twelve years later. Also, my best friend Debbie had been diagnosed with liver and colon cancer and had only been given a 5% chance she might survive 2 years. She did a very aggressive regimen because of her medical history and poor prognosis. Six weeks later her body had healed itself and the doctors declared she was in complete remission. This was the starting point for me.

Now, twelve years later, I have worked with thousands of people with cancer as well as numerous other health conditions including my uncle who is currently fighting rectal cancer that had metastisized. He is currently using an all natural supplement that I am working with that aids our bodies in releasing natural killer (NK) cells. He has seen tremendous benefits with his health and we are looking forward to the day that he will get clear test results.

I believe that diet along with nutritional products are the foundation that helps all the other therapies work even better. I feel they are the best offense for keeping my body healthy and my immune system strong. I pray that God will continue to lead those with debilitating illnesses and cancer into my path. I used to pray that if I could just keep one person from having to walk down the path I had to with my mother I would feel blessed. Now I pray for more and more to be healed and feel blessed one hundred times over. I feel it is truly a blessing to know that you can help someone to change their lives in such a positive manner, they can even regain their health. I have shed so many tears these last few years, but they were tears of joy.

This is my prayer for each and every one of you… when you experience the benefits of good health, share the good news with others, get inspired as I am to go out and tell the world your story. Blessings.